AMERICAN FORK — When people say "Merry Christmas" to this American Fork woman, they really mean it.
That's because her name is, well, Mary Christmas.
About nine months ago, Mary Young, 29, married Brian Christmas, 30, thus becoming Mrs. Mary Christmas.
"It's pretty crazy. It's definitely an adventure," Mary Christmas said.
She added that she never intended to keep her maiden name or to hyphenate when she got married since it can be confusing.
Mary's cousin actually set up the date with Brian. Her cousin thought it would be hilarious if Mary ended up being Mary Christmas.
The pair became engaged — of course — on Christmas Day.
Brian gave Mary a ring in a Christmas present.
They were married, however, on St. Patrick's Day.
Mary is expecting the couple's first baby. They do not intend to name him Nicholas — or Jiminy.
Mary says Christmas is her favorite holiday. "From the time you're little, you're trained to like Christmas best because you get presents," she said. "And it's about family, food and gifts and the spirit of giving and feeling good.
"I love the smell of gingerbread. It's a real happy time with the lights on the tree and outside lights everywhere — and the snow," she said.
Mary says she has been fielding calls from reporters all week, some from as far away as Canada and Sacramento. All heard about her name and wanted to do a story.
"It's been unreal," she said.
All the attention has kept Mary from finishing her Christmas shopping.
Having a last name of Christmas can mean trouble. Mary's husband's grandmother was once detained at a department store when the clerk believed her check to be fraudulent. Her name: Joy Christmas.
Mary works at Ancestry.com, a family history Web site for people to do genealogy. The name Christmas originated in Wales. People born on Christmas Day were given that as a last name.
There are 89 people named Mary Christmas across the nation, according to Ancestry.com.
Other Christmas-related names on U.S. Public Records in Utah include: Jack Frost, Santa Claus, Santa Helper,
Carol Christmas, On Christmas and Christmas House.
Other names found in the U.S. Public Records include: Xmas Alley, Past Xmas, Eve Xmas, Kris Kringle, Snow Ball, Snow Flakes, Saint Nicholas, Rudolph Reindeer and Ginger Bread.
There is no Frosty the Snowman, but 1,700 individuals show up with the surname Snowman in the census records.
Christmas is also a popular first name, according to census records. There's Christmas Joy, Christmas Day, Christmas Week, Christmas Coal, Christmas Cane, Merry Christmas Kellogg and Christmas December.
E-mail: astewart@desnews.com